Free flu vaccines are being distributed in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong province, but a Daily NK source reports this program highlights medical inequality, with services primarily available to downtown residents while remaining largely inaccessible to those in rural areas.
According to a North Hamgyong province source speaking to Daily NK recently, while free flu shots have been available in Hoeryong since mid-December, growing numbers of citizens are being excluded due to vaccine shortages.
“They’re prioritizing downtown areas as supplies allow. Once vaccines run out, that’s it – there’s no other way to get vaccinated. It’s particularly tough for those living on the city’s outskirts,” the source explained.
Most people in Hoeryong’s rural outskirts haven’t received their free flu shots yet. The source noted that rural areas typically end up marginalized during vaccination campaigns due to limited supplies.
The source identified supply shortages as the primary cause of this medical inequality. “With adequate supplies, rural residents would have access too, but right now there simply isn’t enough vaccine to go around.”
While North Korea conducted nationwide immunization programs against infectious diseases as recently as the 1970s and 1980s, such large-scale state medical initiatives effectively ceased during the economic hardships of the 1990s.
Though the pandemic has increased North Koreans’ interest in disease prevention, and free flu shots are generally welcomed, rural residents often miss out on these benefits.
“Most rural residents don’t even know about the flu shot program. Only a few well-connected individuals heard through word of mouth. Some have been visiting city relatives to get vaccinated,” the source said.
One suburban Hoeryong resident took exactly this approach. After learning about free downtown vaccinations, they visited a relative’s downtown home and received a shot while posing as a local resident.
While people are technically supposed to get vaccinated in their registered neighborhood, some neighborhood doctors will vaccinate friends regardless of residency, and neighborhood watch unit leaders sometimes overlook these instances – but only when someone in their unit declines or can’t receive the shot.
“Rural residents are frustrated about being cut off from state medical benefits after learning about this situation. They’re upset about both the vaccine shortage and people working around the system. But they know complaining won’t change anything,” the source concluded.
January 20, 2025 at 10:03PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)